


Sometimes a Family is the Mistakes We Make Along the Way

by TaraHarkon



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: De-Aged Characters, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Magic, Manipulation, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Wonderland, child characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2020-12-09 06:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20990336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon
Summary: Six year old Lucas Miller had a plan to put his family back together in time for Candlenights, so he got his big brother Angus and together they went to the one place that might be able to help them: Wonderland.





	1. Chapter 1

He didn’t go to Wonderland alone, of course. That would have been silly. And how was a little boy supposed to get all the way to the Felicity Wildes by himself? But his older brother had had an idea when he’d brought it up, it just required spending a few hours on the Moon Base. And then he and Angus would get into one of the canons, telling everyone they were going home, and instead steer their way to the Felicity Wildes, get Mom back, and be back home before anyone at the Bureau had time to realize there was a problem. It was practically a flawless plan and absolutely the best plan a six year old and ten year old were going to come up with.

Angus held Lucas' hand as the pair of them walked up the black and white path towards Wonderland. The tent in the center had both of their attention, even as something screeched in the woods far behind them. The danger was behind them now, they were sure of that. Lucas ran forward at the last moment, stopping only when he reached the darkened doorway. There were words written over it and he looked up, a frown on his face as he sounded it out. He recognized his own name quickly enough. Lucas Miller. The second part said...

"And Angus Miller."

He looked up at his brother, double checking his reading, and Angus nodded.

"That's right. Which means they're expecting us."

Lucas grinned brightly and dug in his pocket to pull out the slightly grubby note that had brought them here in the first place. It was a colorful advertisement, now streaked over with crayon and jam and the dirt children seem to invariably have on their hands even when they live on a floating laboratory, but it promised one very important a thing: a way to get his mom back. And he had to. After all, it was almost Candlenights and what would Candlenights be if he didn't have both of his moms.

Then he stared into the darkness and swallowed hard. He had a nightlight in his room at home. It was shaped like the rocket ship Mom had hidden on her moon and it glowed a soft red so it lit the room up but didn't make it hard to see and didn't hurt his eyes. This, though. This was just a deep darkness with no friendly rocket ship inside. He looked up at Angus and took his hand again, squeezing it tightly before they walked through the door together.

* * *

The room inside was far, far too bright. Lucas threw his hands up to cover his eyes, squeezing them shut as lights flashed all over the room and music played from somewhere. It was loud music with a heavy beat to it that thrummed in the floor below their feet. Then the music paused and they heard a high voice, one that brimmed with confidence and curiosity.

"What's this? Brother dear, it seems a pair of children wandered through our door."

A moment later, an elven man appeared kneeling in front of Lucas, looking him over like he was a specimen under a microscope. Then his gaze flicked up to Angus, looking him over for a moment before he smiled at both of them.

"Hello, darlings. What brings you to Wonderland? Was there something you were looking for?"

Lucas looked up at Angus for a moment, almost like he was making sure everything was alright. Then he held out the grubby letter.

"You said you have my mom. I want her back."

The man rocked back slightly, a look of surprise on his face. Then an elven woman appeared standing beside him.

"Well, aren't you just a delightfully brave pair of boys, coming all this way by yourselves." She smiled slowly. "And I bet we can even help you. How does that sound?"

This time, Lucas didn't wait to see what Angus said.

"Please? Can you?" He wiped his face on the back of one sleeve, eyes brimming with tears and nose running just a bit. "I miss her a lot."

The man held his hand out to Lucas, ears flicking back for just a moment before his smile fell back into place.

"Of course. We would _love _to help. My name is Edward and this is my sister, Lydia."

Lucas took his hand but Angus stood still, looking the scene over for a long moment. Then he smiled as well, seeming to relax.

"I'm Angus. This is my little brother, Lucas."

Lydia clapped excitedly and then offered her hand to Angus.

"Isn't that just delightful, Edward? _Brothers_."

* * *

The twins led them out of the room, the lights dimming as they passed through a door that seemed to just appear in the wall. Beyond that, Lucas could see all sorts of things but mostly what looked like large columns rising towards the ceiling. They could hear sounds from within those columns, yelling and banging and the periodic zip-whoosh of spells. Lucas edged closer to Edward, looking up at him with his eyes wide behind his large glasses.

“What’s that? Are there people in there?”

Edward smiled indulgently and reached to ruffle Lucas’ hair.

“Clever boy. You got it right in one. You aren’t the only people to come to Wonderland after all. Each of those rooms holds a game, a contest that most of our guests compete in to get what they came here for.”

Angus frowned slightly but Lydia held tight to his hand, almost seeming to walk slowly by design, trying to keep him from being able to talk to Lucas alone.

“What sort of contests?” He asked, voice suspicious. “They sound dangerous.”

“Nothing you need to worry about, darling. That version of Wonderland is for capable adults. They know what they’re getting into when they sign up.”

Lydia gave him a smile as she answered, her tone just a bit demeaning to Angus’ ears. But Lucas nodded. That made sense to him. He bet his Moms would do great at these contests if there was something here they wanted to win.

“So what’s kid Wonderland like?”

Edward and Lydia both laughed and a door opened in the wall ahead of them.

“You’ll see, dears.”

The next room was brightly lit but with far more comfortable, homey lighting. That wasn’t what caught Lucas Miller’s attention though. What caught him was the items spread all over the room, on every shelf, on the floor, in a large painted chest off to one side.

“Toys!”

He ran forward, letting go of Edward’s hand to grab a toy bear. Edward and Lydia exchanged a look, watching this with obvious glee.

“Naturally! And now you boys can have some fun and relax while we sort out the details of getting your prize.” Edward started.

“After all, you were so very brave to come here alone. How could we not reward that?” Lydia finished.

Angus went to join his brother, his own eyes widening as he looked at the sheer wonder of toys strewn around the room. There was even a table with a stack of science kits on it. But...

“How long do you think it’ll take? We don’t want to worry Mom...”

Lucas looked just a little guilty as he hugged the bear tightly against his chest.

“Yeah, Mom’ll be sad if she can’t find us and she can’t find Mom...”

Edward knelt down, his expression open and concerned.

“Now, boys, we’re masters at this. We’ll have everything ready for you soon. I promise.”

After that, the twins left them to their own devices but the room provided everything two boys might need. When they were hungry, food appeared on the table. When they were tired, a door opened to a room with a set of bunk beds. There was even a small bathroom off to the side, they quickly discovered. And throughout all of it, Angus was quietly worried. Lucas was smart, sure, but he was smart about science. Angus was the one who was smart about people and if he was right, Edward and Lydia weren’t to be trusted. But did they have another choice? Not one that would bring Mom back. Not one that would make their family happy and whole again.

Neither of them were sure how much time had passed in this place with no windows before Lydia appeared in their midst again. She sat on the floor with Lucas, asking him all sorts of questions about their mother and building with the blocks with him. It was almost enough to make Angus wonder if maybe he’d misjudged them. And then he looked up from his book only minutes later to realize they were gone. Not just Lydia, but Lucas too. She’d taken his baby brother and left him alone. The book slipped from his fingers as Caleb Cleveland’s mystery took a rapid backseat to his own and he ran towards the small room with the bunk beds. Maybe Lucas was there. Or maybe he was in the bathroom. Or hiding. Or... or... or...

Lucas held tightly to Lydia’s hand as they walked through Wonderland.

“We just need a little help from you if we’re going to make sure your family is happy and whole again. It shouldn’t take long at all.”

He nodded eagerly, adjusting his glasses as they walked.

“What do I need to do?”

Edward met them and picked Lucas up in his arms despite the boy’s squawk of protest.

“Just do as you’re told and everything is going to be fine.”

The next days were a blur worse than the first, a haze he would never be able to work through where one moment he was listening to quiet stories and the next there was pain and then darkness, repeat, shuffle, repeat, and add in indistinct memories of a cottage in the forest. None of it made sense until it all finally clicked into place and he woke up in a small bed with a pounding headache. He sat up slowly, tears in his eyes. He didn’t like being in pain. Then there was a cool hand on his forehead and he blinked a few times as the pain subsided.

“How are you feeling, Keats?”

Keats (Lucas?) smiled at his sister(?) and tried to relax. He did feel better but he was dizzy, confused.

“I think I’m okay, Lili.”

Lydia brushed his hair back from his face and smiled at him.

“Good. We were worried about you, you know. You’ve been so sick.”

Her words seemed to settle something in his mind and the six year old smiled, showing off the gap where one of his front teeth was missing.

“I’m okay now though. Promise.”

She laughed and poked his nose, drawing a laugh out of him in return.

“Well then, how about we go tell Eddie the good news?”

Keats turned and slid off the bed, running towards the door.

“Yeah!” Then he paused, something akin to static shooting through his mind for a moment. “Then can I go play with... with..."

He frowned slightly, obviously trying to remember something. Lydia's ears flicked back, consternation clear on her face. Then she masked it, pouring honey on the knives in her smile.

"With the boy you came with, of course, dear."

Keats brightened then, some little pieces of memory coming back even through the haze his mind swam through.

“Angus! His name is Angus! And he’s great, he’s my best friend.”

Lydia's jaw tightened and Keats reached to tug on one of his pointed ears. Had he done something wrong? Then she nodded.

"That's right, Angus. How could I forget?"

For a moment, she stared off into the distance. Then she smiled down at him and Keats instantly felt better. That was more like it. Lydia was always _always_ smiling.

"Edward and Angus are going to meet us in your room. How does that sound?"

He nodded excitingly, letting her lead him along down the hallway. 

* * *

  
At the same time, in another part of Wonderland, Edward knocked the wand out of Angus Miller's hand, cornering him against the wall. Magic began to glow around his hands and eyes as he focused on the boy.

"His name is Keats. His name has _always_ been Keats. And you will not take him from us."

Angus tried to fight against the spell but slowly, his eyes rolled up and he collapsed. A moment later, he blinked, looking up into the concerned eyes of Edward.

"Angus, dear, are you alright? What happened?"

He rubbed his head, trying to figure out why it ached. Then he shook his head a little and let Edward help him up.

"I think... I think I hit my head."

He squinted for a moment and pulled his glasses off to clean them. Then he looked up again as Edward spoke.

"Well, as long as you're alright now. Keats is feeling better and Lydia is bringing him now so you two can play."

* * *

It was Candlenights before Lucretia Miller realized something was wrong. Not, of course, that she was going by the name Lucretia Miller. Legally speaking, it was very much still hers, but she and Maureen were going through some things. Or at least, they had been. She wasn't sure what was happening now. What she was sure of was that she'd gone to the Miller Lab with every intention of inviting her only-mostly estranged wife and their boys to Candlenights on the Bureau base. Perhaps this was just what they needed to sort things out. And it might have even worked, assuming there had been anyone on the floating laboratory complex. No Maureen, no Angus, and no Lucas. It was, of course, entirely possible that Maureen had taken the boys somewhere for the holidays. Or that she had seen Lucretia coming and continued avoiding her. Or that something was horribly wrong. 

Her stone of far speech was for emergencies only. But she was the one who got to decide what 'emergency' meant, as she pulled it out and quickly input Maureen's frequency. A cold chill ran through her as she heard the beeping sound coming from one of the locked labs. 

Soon enough, Lucretia had one answer and two very big problems. Maureen (her sweet, clever _Maureen_) was gone and their boys were missing. Turning, she ran back to the sphere she'd used to arrive at the Miller Labs in the first place. She would need to track the boys and she would need her staff. Her gaze lingered on the silver bracer on her wrist. Her staff _and _back-up.

* * *

The next time she stepped out of one of the glass spheres launched out of the Bureau of Balance hangars, it was with Carey and Killian at her back. The pair of them were as heavily armed as when they went after renegades from the Bureau but this time it was different, this time the mission was far more personal. Lucretia held her staff tightly in both hands, focusing on a spell that would allow her to track the boys, her sons. Angus and Lucas had to be out there somewhere and they had to be alright. Except that Lucretia was less than sure now that she saw where her tracking spell had taken her. She knew the black and white tent that stood before her and it sent a shock of terror through her like ice that threatened to crush her lungs and force the breath from her body. Killian frowned, looking up at one of the billboards ahead of them.

"We've got what you came for... Is that a picture of Angus?"

Carey followed her gaze, expression uncertain as she flipped a knife in her hand. 

"Sure looks like it, Kills. But where's Lucas?" Then she stopped, turning to look at Lucretia. "Madam Director, are you sure they're both in- Hey, are you okay?"

Lucretia looked between their equally concerned faces for a moment and then forced iron into her spine. She was the Director of the Bureau of Balance. She was a member of the IPRE. She had been in Wonderland once before and she could do it again for her boys. 

* * *

A bell rang somewhere high above and Keats looked up, ears flicking with curiosity. He tugged on Edward's pant leg and pointed.

"Eddie, what's that? What's it mean?"

Edward scooped the small boy up in his arms, a slow smile crossing his face.

"That, darling brother, is the sound of a guest arriving to play our game."


	2. Chapter 2

Lucretia hadn't seen people the first time she came to Wonderland, but she had seen the music and the lights, she had played the games, she had heard the voices. This time? This time, when she stepped through the doorway with Carey and Killian, she found herself looking up at a stage with two elves standing on it. They were posing back to back, each of them wearing bright colors, with their hair styled and their makeup perfect. For a shaky, terrifying, horrible, sickening moment, all she could see was Taako and Lup looking back at her with wolf's eyes. But that wasn't right at all. 

"Hello, darling~"

"Welcome to Wonderland~"

Killian tensed at Lucretia's side, her grip on her crossbow tight. Carey growled under her breath, palming her knives as she looked up at them.

"Where are they? Angus and Lucas, where are they?"

The elven woman laughed, her hand over her mouth.

"Darling, that's not how this works at all. You're in Wonderland." Then she paused, leaning forward slightly. "Lucretia, dear, its lovely to see you again. How have you been? Enjoying those extra years? You've really leaned into it. I'm loving the gravitas."

Lucretia took a half step back, eyes wide.

"Who are you?"

That got a laugh out of both of the elves and the man stepped forward.

"We are your hosts. I'm Edward-"

"And I'm Lydia, darling."

They kept picking up each other's sentences and Lucretia couldn't decide whether it was horrifying or strangely comforting. How long had it been since she last heard people who could do that? Ah yes, when Lup disappeared. How could she forget?

But she really needed to focus on the task at hand. She looked up, eyes narrowed and grip tight on the Bulwark Staff.

"Where are my children? I know you have them."

Lydia waved that off like it was nothing.

"You're a working woman, aren't you, dear? Do you really have time for something like children?"

"They're so much work," Edward picked up the thread like it was nothing, taking a seat on the edge of the stage. "You really have to be so sure you're ready for it."

There was a sound behind the curtain at the back of the stage and Edward looked up slightly, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Lydia moved back, peeking behind the curtain for just a moment. Lucretia's eyes were drawn to that spot, certain that this must be where they had her boys. 

Then Lydia turned around, her own smile mirroring Edward's. There was something in that smile that was real, an actual happiness. The rest was like looking into the eyes of a tiger in the moment before it pounced.

"Speaking of, however. I think its time to introduce the third member of our trio in his first ever stage debut."

Edward stood as well, sweeping one arm out wide.

"The clever, the talented, our one and only babiest brother..."

"Keats!"

They yelled the last in unison and the curtain opened wide to show a small boy no more than six years old. He had the long pointed ears of an elf and the same straight, dark hair as them. He was wearing a brightly colored jumpsuit, almost like a childish version of their own high fashion outfits. Garish and accented with a diagonal stripe across his small chest. 

On cue, he stepped forward and bowed. The movement was awkward, not quite as graceful as the others. But he looked so very proud of himself for managing it. Then he smiled brightly at the three women and shouted, throwing his hands up as he straightened.

"Welcome to Wonderland!"

Edward and Lydia both clapped excitedly, watching him and paying nearly no attention to their small audience.

"That was perfect, Keats."

"Absolutely perfect."

He walked over to stand next to Edward, taking his hand and beaming with pride. And Lucretia couldn't take her eyes off him. She'd known something was wrong from the moment the curtains had opened. He looked a bit like the twins, yes, but there were details that were off. His eyes were a dark brown to their pale blue, his eyebrows bushy and closer together, his nose... his nose her own. 

Was this an illusion? A shape they'd crafted around her younger son? Lucretia looked down for a moment, using the motion to conceal it as she cast True Seeing. When she looked back up, she expected to see Lucas standing where this Keats stood now. But he was not the one that changed. It was the two standing on either side of him. One moment, they were flash and color and so very alive, the next they were skeletal figures in black robes like some kind of dark mockery of Barry and Lup.

Like Barry and Lup.

They were liches.

Suddenly, so many pieces of Wonderland fell into place and Lucretia wished she could just grab her boys and her dear friends and run. But they didn't have that option. Even if Keats really was Lucas, a fact of which she was still convinced, where was Angus?

"Well, aren't you going to applaud our rising little star? He's been working so hard on this, after all. Don't want him to think it wasn't worth it."

Carey and Killian started clapping, slowly at first with confusion on their faces. Lucretia had to wonder if they could see it too. If they could see Lucas in this little boy. She could feel the eyes on her even without looking, those glowing red eyes deep in the shadows of their hooded robes. They were waiting on her now. After a long moment, Lucretia started clapping as well, just as slow. The little boy laughed, tugging on Edward's hand.

"I did it! I really did it! And they clapped and everything, just like you said, Eddie!"

Edward smiled slowly as Lucretia let her spell fade. She didn't want to keep seeing their true forms. It was too hard, too wrong, too close to what had been. 

"Do you remember your next line, baby brother?"

Keats nodded excitedly and stepped forward again, his toes just at the edge of the stage. He cleared his throat and pointed towards a door Lucretia was quite certain hadn't been there a moment before.

"It's time for Round One!"

Just like before, Edward and Lydia started clapping excitedly. Then Edward scooped the boy up in his arms.

"If you would be so kind as to meet us all in the next room, then we can get started."

And just like that, he and Lydia vanished. Carey and Killian looked to Lucretia for some kind of direction. 

"Do we go, boss? I mean, that seems an awful lot like a trap."

Lucretia closed her eyes for a moment, leaning heavily on the Bulwark Staff.

"Do we have any other choice?"

* * *

Keats watched the three of them walk into the room, feeling distinctly odd. There was something about the three women that seemed familiar. But not too familiar. But not too not familiar. It was like a memory from a dream, a dream where people lived on the moon and he got to play with Angus while one of these women looked on. Or another woman he could just barely remember. But people from dreams didn't just walk into Wonderland, right? People from dreams were supposed to stay in dreams, not come to play his brother and sister's game. He looked up at them, trying to decide if either of them were confused by all of this. But no, they were both smiling. They were happy about something, that was for sure.

"Now then," Edward spoke cheerfully, his tone sing-song as he gestured towards the large wheel on one side of the room. "I'm sure you remember the Wheel of Sacrifice, don't you, darling?"

The woman who seemed the most familiar, Lucretia, tightened her jaw.

"As it happens, I do. Yes."

A slow smile crossed Edward's face as he met Lucretia's gaze.

"I so hoped you would."

There was something about this exchange that was confusing for Keats. Why was Edward acting like this? He was being mean, almost cruel. Edward wasn't like that. And wasn't this supposed to be a game? It didn't make sense.

"We are going to be changing up the rules a bit though. What with this being our darling baby brother's first time helping us run our game, I thought it would be nice to let him spin the wheel for you. Isn't that lovely?"

Lydia smiled bright and reached to ruffle Keats' hair.

"Doesn't that sound like fun?"

He looked up at her and then at the huge wheel prominently in the center of the room. It was brightly colored and covered in pictures. It did look like a lot of fun to spin. Then he looked over at the three women. The orc just looked perplexed. The dragonborn had her head tilted to the side and her tail was flicking back and forth, her eyes on Lydia. But the human woman in the middle, Lucretia, she was staring right at him with worry plain on her face. Why would she be looking at him like that if this was just a game?

But he also trusted Edward and Lydia implicitly. They were his big brother and sister, why would they lie or even steer him wrong? Keats ran over to the big wheel as fast as his much shorter legs would take him and reached up to get both hands on the side of it.

"I can do it!"

Lydia laughed, clapping happily. Edward grinned brightly.

"And I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job, darling baby brother. To quickly go over the rules of our game for our new competitors, Keats here will spin the wheel for each of you and then you'll have to sacrifice something that matches what he spun. Once you've all made your sacrifices, then we can move on to the next challenge. Isn't that nice and simple?"

Before any of them could respond, Keats pulled as hard as he could, setting the huge wheel into motion. It clicked as it turned, starting fast and slowing as the wheel slowed. He took a few steps back, watching the bright colors blur together until it began to slow. As it did, Edward's smile tightened, sharpened, and he turned his gaze on Lucretia.

"Shall we see what you spun, darling?"

* * *

Angus felt like he was walking in a fog more than half the time but at least he got to see Keats. He knew that Keats was important far beyond what Edward and Lydia said. He knew he was supposed to protect the little boy, keep him safe from... from something. But Edward and Lydia had taken him to play their game when the bell rang and left Angus here alone in Keats' room. Surrounded by books and toys as he was, he should've been happy. He was a little boy, after all. Instead, he nervously paced and tried to force his way past the fog around his mind.

If he was supposed to protect Keats, why had they taken the little boy and left Angus behind? He couldn't very well do his job from here. And there was something else, something that pushed at the back of his eyes and died on the back of his tongue before it could so much as form the thought of a word. Still, he pushed and pushed, thrashing his way out of the fog until he fell to his knees and broke through.

Lucas.

His little brother.

They'd hurt Lucas. They'd twisted him, somehow, changed him, made him think he was Keats. And they'd made Angus play along this whole time. And now he had to do something. The question was: what could he do?

Looking around the playroom frantically, Angus looked for anything that could help him. This place didn't even have a door unless Edward and Lydia wanted it to. But still, there had to be something. He spotted the small spellbook and wand sitting high on a shelf. They belonged to Keats-- _Lucas_ and the wand was too small for Angus but it was what he had to work with. Grabbing a chair, he dragged it over to give himself the last boost he needed to reach. Closing his fingers around the handle, he took a breath. From here, he was going to have to improvise.


End file.
